. >>> don wright's career spanned engineering, being a company vice president, and the law. at age 62, he discovered a new passion -- marathons. [ applause ] >> reporter: nine year ago, days after running his first 26-mile race, he got some devastating news. >> i had gone to the doctor a couple of times for pain in my back. it was multiple myeloma. >> reporter: this is a cancer of the blood where the white blood cells invade the bone marrow causing pain. usually in the back or the ribs. patients are rarely cured. but wright refused to let that slow him down. even qualifying for the boston marathon. >> got this devastating diagnosis, and we just -- my family and i, we just kept on going. you know, there wasn't any reason to stop and be sorry, you know. we kept running marathons. >> reporter: on december 9 under a hot hawaiian sun, wright, now 71, reached his seemingly impossible goal -- running a marathon in all 50 states. >> it feels wonderful, i'll tell you. a philosophy of life that i have is live one day at a time and make it a masterpiece. and that was a masterpiece. >>